CIA Search for Redemption and other Appalling Thoughts

Anyone in US national security who was engaged in the Cold War with the Soviet Union knows it was a Darwinian, ruthless struggle to win, or at a minimum, not to be beaten. The cold war played out on all continents in one way or another. In the process, brave, dedicated men died on both sides. CIA honors their fallen with an anonymous memorial. The Russians have a special hall of fame for their heroes of covert operations. So I find it appalling that the CIA has decided to exorcise itself of its perceived past crimes and pursue some cockeyed salvation through suffering drama that will only delight critics and those who are by nature low risk I told you so losers. Nothing here is uplifting. It is even not self righteous. CIA deserved the critical hits on domestic spying and LSD testing on the unsuspected, but foreign covert operations internationally are another thing.....

Last time I checked, the CIA is still not a religious organization. Understand Catholics go to confession to rid themselves of guilt. Jews, who invented the guilt complex, have their annual days of atonement. Protestants have this born again spiritual process that allegedly makes you a better person, but tends to turn some into Jesus freaks... Remember all those pitiful TV preachers rolling in remorse tearfully begging for forgiveness, because they sinned – watching those creeps cavorting makes you want to check out the other side, i.e. Beelzebub and his dark legions. Hallelujah, I am a bum seems to work as well as an act of contrition as any of the preceding pursuits of expiation....

So why in the world does CIA want dredge up activities that are best officially passed; historically buried? Nearly every one of its adventures has already, in some way, been exposed. The fact that the Kennedys wanted to kill Castro with exploding cigars and poisonous ice cream cones is nothing new. There are, however, many files on the Kennedy/Castro era that have disappeared that may shed light on the president's assassination. Now that would be a significant find. One thing for certain is that Castros' pagan Santeria god, Chango, protected him more than JFK's and RFK's Christian deities.

The fact is that many of these clandestine operations worked in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan and Iran were beautifully executed, but their long term impact is not so hot. This should not reflect on the people who did the nation's bidding as much as the politician who signed the findings or orders. CIA is always caught holding the bag as the politicians run for cover when the events surface... Recently, the CIA figured out that rough interrogation techniques, though ordered by Bush Inc., needed legal protection and forced the issue, and a Republican congress bent their way. It remains unclear whether CIA is authorized to torture, and there is pack of CIA operatives being chased by the Italian authorities now over such issues.

Assassinations, coups d'etat and rigging elections are all illegal, but so was invading Iraq and Kuwait. Realpolitik, greed or national interest trump morality and the law. The only immutable rule is do not lose the war or the bad guys will run you remorselessly to ground. Covert affairs are usually bloody with people killed or they just disappear. Hopeless Henry Kissinger said to a congressional committee after the US betrayed the Iraq Kurds in 1975 that, ONE SHOULD NOT CONFUSE UNDERCOVER ACTION WITH SOCIAL WORK.

Part of GW Bush's problem in Iraq and with the Israeli's permanent warfare is that neither of them will stop fighting, because they are unable to face the consequences of failure – to find yourself in this fix is result of dumb policies that plunged them into the morass. From their standpoint, there is nothing GW Bush or the current Israeli leadership can do except, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT – KILL KILL KILL – DIE DIE DIE. Until there is a major change in leadership in both countries the bloody wars will continue. In Washington the frightening alternative to plunder capital Bush Republicans are ditzy Clinton Democrats who have not demonstrated any foreign policy acumen. Remember, Clinton permanently sprinkled the Balkans with US troops; and presently Bill's wife, who voted for the Iraq war, also wants to leave US permanent forces in Iraq. It was so bad during the Cold War that the liberal Democrat politicians were sometimes a greater threat to US national security than the Soviets. In Israel, at least, there remains a group of people fused together, symbolized by the assassinated Rabin. He realized accommodation eventually has to be made with the Arabs. Even Bulldozer Sharon was moving in that direction until he was struck down by the Jewish Pulsa Dinura curse (see Shrapnel January 18, 2006).

So other than a pointless public relations exercise what do CIA true confessions accomplish? They opens old wounds. We all know the brilliant stage management in Iran when the replacement of Mossadegh with the Shah led to US hostages, and to the sharp frictions today between the US and Iran. We know that the dramatically successful CIA operation against Soviets in Afghanistan blew back furiously in the form of bin Laden's terrorist organization. Do not blame the CIA. It did as ordered. What should have been learned is that when a president pulls the covert operations trigger, you never can be certain where the bullet goes – sometimes it ricochets.

Over the years, professionally, I have had sharp differences with the analytical and security side of the CIA. But I always had respect for the foreign covert operation teams – they tread where angels fear to tread. They had dash and competence. This élan has been damaged by permanent investigations and CIA Directors who tried to destroy the organization. In the old days, it was the Washington bureaucracy with the most spirit, morale and pride – the girlie boys, mostly Democratic politicians, did their best to curb CIA enthusiasm.

CIA has executed its self criticism and confessed its guilt publicly. The whole process had a whiff of a Marxist/Leninist purge trial except it did not end with a swift bullet in the back of the head. Now who is going to do the Black Bag operations for the US when needed? We know the Russians have not cut back on their covert operations. If anything they honed them in Chechnya and recently in London. Guess GW Bush will out source them to private contractors. The new enterprise can still carry the CIA initials, but in this case it will stand for CHRISTIANS IN ACTION. Colonel RE Bartos USA RET

Photograph: Bronze – Beelzebub Pensive